This article proposes to analyse the forms of circulation of Italian cinema abroad through a survey
of its critical reception in the main international reviews in France and the United States. In
particular, we have pursued the mapping, the cataloguing and the digitization of articles from
the journals Cahiers du cinéma and Positif for France and Film Comment for the USA, covering
the decade 2007-2017, in order to build a digital database. Thus, we have collected a selection
of the data provided by the specialized press about the spread and promotion abroad of Italian
national cinematographic culture. Such data allows us to emphasize some pivotal stakeholders in
the circulation and valorization of Italian cinema through critical reflection, reviews, and interviews.
Moreover, the journals offer a selection of Italian titles within the home video market, and
a mapping of the initiatives of programming and curatorship in the institutional frameworks of
cinematheques and museums.
We have carried out quantitative analysis of the number of articles dedicated to Italian cinema,
and qualitative analysis, of the relationship between ‘auteur’ cinema and popular films, of
those titles that have been dramatically re-evaluated, those less well-known in Italy but much
appreciated abroad, or those subjected to harsh criticism.
